US3537180A - Dental material placement instrument - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 3, 1970 J. A. MENDCNDLA 3,537,180

DENTAL MATERIAL PLACEMENT INSTRUMENT Filed July 23, 1968 JOSEPH A. MENDOLA 1N VEN TOR.

BY QAW ATTORNEY United States Patent 3 537,180 DENTAL MATERIAL ILACEMENT INSTRUMENT Joseph A. Mendola, 255 Nottingham Terrace, Buffalo, NY. 14216 Filed July 23, 1968, Ser. No. 746,992

Int. Cl. A61c 3/00 US. Cl. 32-40 4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A dental material placement instrument having a stationary inner member with gripping tines at one end thereof and a tubular member telescoping over the inner member and movable beyond the tines, a stationary housing member surrounding the tubular member and fixed to the inner member, and a spring between the housing member and the tubular member biasing the same such that the tines project therefrom.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to dental instruments and, more particularly, to an instrument for placing and applying various dental materials, such as cotton, to the mouth and teeth.

Instruments are currently known which aid in placing dental materials such as cotton in the month. These generally function only to pick up the material by means of various types of grips or sharp edged projections. The dentist would pick up the material with one hand holding the instrument, place the material in the patients month; then with his other hand holding a second instrument, he would remove the material from the first instrument and compact it to place in the proper location in the month.

As should be apparent, the above described procedure, requiring the use of both hands, is time consuming and inefiicient.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The foregoing, and other, disadvantages are overcome according to the teachings of the present invention, which provides a single dental placement instrument that functions to place the dental material in the approprrate oral location and also in a single operation functions to remove the material and compact or wedge it into place. The dentist need only use one hand and the operation is fast and eflicient.

Basically, the present invention provides; an elongated member; tip means on one end of the member for gripping a dental material such as cotton; and slidable means telescoping over the member and having a portion thereof movable from a first position spaced from the tip means to a second position even with said tip means to a third position beyond the tip means.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a fuller understanding of the present invention, reference should now be had to the following detailed description of the same taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of the apparatus according to the present invention, illustrating the same in one operative position, and

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view similar to FIG. 1, illustrating the apparatus in a second operative position.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings, the placement instrument is generally depicted by the numeral and is illus- 3,537,180 Patented Nov. 3, 1970 trated as comprising an outer casing 12, generally tubular and cylindrical defining a through opening 14. Casing 12 has two open ends 16 and 18, one of which contains an annular flange 20, and may be fabricated of any suitable material, such as plastic for example. One or more threaded passages 22 are provided intermediate the ends of casing 12 extending from an outer peripheral surface thereof to the interior opening 14.

Slidably received in casing through opening 14 is an elongated, generally annular plunger 24 defining an internal passage 26, open at one end and closed at the other end by a removable flange 28, which is located adjacent to and corresponding substantially in size to flange 20 of casing 12. The open end of plunger 24 has suitably attached thereto a flexible portion 30 that may be a coil type spring or the like. The end of flexible portion 30 that is remote from the plunger attached end has attached thereto a cylindrical collar 32. A plastic material tip, such as polytetrafluoroethylene, is located on the free end of collar 32, as illustrated at 34 in FIG. 2.

Plunger 24 telescopes over an inner rod-like member 36 which is rigidly attached to casing 12 by means of a screw or the like 38 passing through openings 22 and a slot 40 in the plunger. Member 36 has a curved tapered forward section 42 terminating in a dental material grip ping tip 44, which tip may comprise a pair of sharp tines 46, fabricated of stainless steel or the like. The flexible portion 30 of the plunger and the collar is suitably tapered to telescope over the forward section 42 and the tip 44 of member 36. The slot 40 is of sufiicient extent to allow the plunger to have a stroke that is long enough to allow the collar 32 to extend beyond the tines 42. To bias the plunger in the position illustrated in FIG. 1, a compres sion spring 48 may be located between flanges 20 and 28.

In operation, with the instrument in the position illus trated in FIG. 1, a dental material such as cotton is picked up by the tines, which grip the material by slight penetration through the surface thereof. The material is placed in the proper oral location and plunger 24 is actuated by suitable thumb pressure on flange 28. This causes the collar 32 to slide over tip 44 into contact with the dental material, removing it from tines 46, and then well beyond the tines to wedge the material firmly in place in the mouth, as illustrated in FIG. 2.

The polytetrafluoroethylene tip 34 functions to prevent the dental material from adhering thereto.

The instrument according to the present invention is simple to use, inexpensive to manufacture and the parts may be fabricated of light weight metals and/ or plastics.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been disclosed, other embodiments will oc our to those skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A dental material placement instrument of the character described, comprising;

(a) (21m elongated member having a curved forward (b) sharp stationary tines on the extremity of said curved forward end for gripping a dental material,

(0) slidable means telescoping over said elongated member comprising a generally tubular plunger having a flexible section surrounding said curved forward end,

(d) a collar attached to said flexible section adjacent said tines and movable from a first position spaced from said tines, such that said tines project therefrom, to a second position even with said tines to a third position beyond said tines,

(e) means normally biasing said collar into said first position,

(f) a stationary tubular casing surrounding said plunger, and

4 (g) means fixedly attaching said casing to said elon- (k) resilient means located between said flanges for gated member. urging said collar away from said tines. 2. The instrument according to claim 1, further com- The Instrument according to Claim Whefeln! i i (1) said collar has a polytetrafluoroethylene coated end.

(h) a slot in said plunger sufiiciently long to permit 5 said collar to extend beyond said tines, and wherein; References end (i) said last mentioned means passes through said slot. UNITED STATES PATENTS 3. The instrument according to claim 2, further com- 1,473,062 11/1923 Tinker 128-260 prising: 2,573,547 10/1951 Crowell 3260 (j) opposed flanges on said plunger and said casing, and 10 wherein said means normally biasing comprises, ROBERT PESHOCK, Prlmary Examiner

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